If you’re an 80’s kid (or even a 90’s kid) then you’ll have read those good old “Choose Your Own Adventure” novels where you decide what the character does next. In fact, you might have written your own ones on exercise books (I know some of my classmates did). My personal favourite was this series called “Lone Wolf” where you played this druidic Jedi-like character who had many different super powers. These interactive adventures filled most of my time, especially since I always wanted to find the optimal path and get the best ending.
But if your son or daughter decides to write his game book after reading them, is that a good idea? Is it even educational?
Yes, it is, because it teaches them English in a way that the standard classroom academic setting can’t. And the skills it teaches are transferrable to their English lessons. Besides, writing their game book is a much better past time than being glued to their mobile phones all day, right?
So here’s five ways that writing a game book improves your English, and might even pave the way to your eventual future as an award-winning writer like J K Rowling!
1. You learn how to write concisely
Game books are usually divided into sections or pages, where each section gives you several choices, and is also the result of a choice from an earlier page. That means that within each section, you need to resolve the consequences of the previous choice, and setup the scenario for the next choice. That’s several plot points that need to be covered in a page or less.
This means you need to convey your ideas in a clear and effective fashion in a limited space. Writing concisely improves your quality of writing, since nobody wants to read long, bloated sentences full of picturesque descriptions of fluffy white clouds and cerulean skies. I mean, do you honestly want to read another composition that begins with a rundown of the day’s weather?
2. You learn better diction
Diction means your choice of words, and a large vocabulary doesn’t necessarily always equate to better diction. Diction means understanding which word to use to achieve maximum impact. Sometimes, a single word can say so much more than a paragraph of explanation. Being forced to write concisely always makes you re-evaluate your vocabulary selection.
Anyone can wax lyrical about “the witch’s dark red fiery lips, which were like the magma pools of an angry volcano, were stained with raw crimson blood from her feast” but only a good writer can tell you how “a stray droplet of blood landed on the boy, who looked up to see the witch licking her lips”.
3. You understand how to write more creative plots
When you provide your reader multiple decisions to make in a story, you also have to provide the resolution of each decision and the eventual outcome of those choices. Having to consider different ways to resolve a story strengthens your understanding of plot and structure, since you are the one who has to link the cause and effect in a logical fashion.
Also, in a regular composition, we often go with the “standard” or “ideal” plots to tell a story. In an interactive adventure, the writer must provide additional choices that are just as compelling as those in a “standard” or “ideal” story. This trains you to consider different ideas when it comes to writing a composition, ensuring that your future composition doesn’t have the same cookie cutter plot as your classmate’s!
4. You get to explore scenarios/endings that you can’t in real life
We’ve all told students not to end their compositions with “it was all a dream” or a sudden death, and for good reason – these simply aren’t satisfying endings! They may be exciting scenarios to write, but if you look at the composition holistically, it’s a copout of an ending. However, we can say all we want to students, but sometimes, they need an avenue to try it out and compare the consequences themselves.
That’s where an interactive adventure comes in. With the inclusion of multiple endings, some of these fantasy scenarios can be explored alongside more logical outcomes. This lets children see the impact of these “dream” endings and decide for themselves which ones are better. Experience is the best teacher, isn’t it?
5. Teaches them to plan before they write
You can’t write an interactive adventure without planning. And the key to good writing is planning, even for composition or situational writing. Effective planning takes mindfulness and practice, and this is where writing an interactive adventure helps. With a good plan, children will know what their next paragraph leads to, resulting in clear, purposeful writing. When they see how much a plan improves their writing, they’ll be more willing to try it out for their next composition, rather than having you nag incessantly for them to do so.
Sample Interactive Adventures
Interactive adventures don’t have to be 100, 200 page affairs – even a simple 7 to 14 part story is fun to write. Check out these fun interactive adventures before setting out to let your child write their own.
Additional Resources
Want to learn more about writing interactive adventures? Check this out!
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